After Us. Perspectives on Humanism, Posthumanism, and Transhumanism

After Us. Perspectives on Humanism, Posthumanism and TranshumanismConference of the North and South American Forum for Social CriticismJanuary 25-26, 2013Friday 10am-8pmSaturday 10am-4pmLocation: Howe Center, Bissinger Room, 4th Floor, Stevens Institute of Technology

Transhumanism has become a widespread idea, due to emerging technologies such as genomic medicine or brain-computer interfaces which allow scientists to influence and alter processes previously deemed natural. The most prominent expression of these new possibilities is Kurzweil’s vision of the “singularity,” the irreversible fusion of human life and biotechnology. But besides such recent developments, transhumanism is a concern lying at the heart of many approaches in the humanities and sciences. For many, we already life in a post-humanist age in which the idea of a fixed essence of the human has become obsolete.

This joint international conference addresses the problem of transhumanism by questioning more traditional approaches to humanism and comparing them to the claim of a posthumanist age. Various approaches from all traditions of philosophy and the humanities will be brought in a dialogue with each other. The idea of transhumanism will be discussed in all its aspects, by exploring critically both its risks and promises.

The North and South American Forum for Social Criticism brings philosophers from all the Americas together to explore issues and topics in Continental Philosophy. Its purpose is to promote the vitality of this tradition and its ways of thinking in the face of rapidly changing democracies and the need for global dialogue and responsibility.